Colorado Community May Enlist Urban Hunters To Deal With Invasive Deer

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Tim Pearce

A city in Colorado is considering how to deal with an exploding urban population of deer that are wreaking havoc on the community, destroying lawns and causing wrecks, Colorado’s The Gazette reports.

About 20 deer live in every square mile of southwest Colorado Springs, about ten times more than what is considered “healthy” in the wild, Colorado Parks and Wildlife Spokesman Bill Vogrin told The Gazette.

Colorado wildlife official Frank McGee says regulated bow and arrow hunts inside the city limits may be the best option.

“There are things that work, and there are things that cost,” McGee told The Gazette. “Hunting is effective, and it doesn’t cost.”

A similar tactic is being used to deal with coyotes infesting urban areas across the U.S. Since the gray wolf has disappeared from much of North America, coyotes have bred and spread free of its greatest competitor, The New York Times reports.

Accidents have occurred because of hunting in populated areas, however. There are instances ranging from an accidental shooting where a hunter was charged with second-degree assault to a boy and his dog setting off a device that sprayed cyanide over both, killing the dog.

Dealing with the deer in Colorado Springs would be less complicated. Hunters would only use bows and crossbows, not firearms. Also, the city council would regulate hunts and the use of traps, if they were used at all, McGee told the Gazette.

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